ERVING — This Saturday the town will celebrate the opening of Riverfront Park, which is the long awaited phase one in a long term project to redo the Usher Mill.
The event starts at 2 p.m. at the park, off Route 2 on Arch Street. State and local officials will be present at the ribbon cutting. State Sen. Stan Rosenberg and State Rep. Suzannah Whipps Lee will be giving brief remarks at the ceremony.
The event will also include face painting, games, food, and free ice cream sundaes.
The park is the first of three phases for the Usher Mill and its surrounding area. The Usher Mill Reuse Committee, which was created in 2011, has been meeting for over six years determining how the town would redevelop the area.
The town received a $400,000 PARC Grant from the state’s Division of Conservation Services, which it then matched with $400,000 of public funding.
If the committee is appointed to continue work on the project, phase two will include incorporating an additional seven acres along the Millers River to the park for walking and bike trails. Phase three would be the redevelopment of the mill building. If the town choose to pursue those options they would be several years away, according to Jamie Schermesser, committee chairwoman.
As for the grant opening, Schermesser recommends those attending Saturday’s event bring lawn chairs in case they run out of seating. Bottled water will be available and the event is rain or shine.
Hamburgers and hot dogs will be for sale by the Erving Firefighter’s Association.
A band will be performing at the park and if the weather is good there will also be an antique car show, according to Schermesser.
She said that handicapped parking would be available in the park, and asks that other visitors do not drive down into the park, but park in the lots along Route 2 in Erving center.
Reach Miranda Davis at
413-772-0261, ext. 280 or
mdavis@recorder.com.